Tag: Grand Prize Winners

  • RECONFIGUREMENT™ by E. Alan Fleischauer – Money Management, Retirement Planning, Career Planning

     

    A guide to achieving financial freedom in retirement, E. Alan Fleischauer’s bestseller Reconfigurement™ reveals a roadmap guided by the Mantra, “Navigate, Customize, and Thrive.”

    Advances in medicine, nutrition, and longevity planning now offer unparalleled possibilities to live longer, higher-quality lives. However, looming over this rosy image is a genuine concern: the financial ramifications of a longer retirement term. More alarming is that a sizable portion of the American populace is not harnessing their 401(k) retirement plans.

    In light of this scenario, can traditional investment programs with fraying safety nets, such as pensions, remain viable? Reconfigurement combines the emotional fulfillment of making retirement dreams a reality with practical guidance that rejects the notion of a set retirement age of 65. This work’s personal tales and sound financial guidance entice readers away from the constraints of traditional retirement approaches.

    Author Fleischauer integrates the needs of financial, professional, and retirement life to create a path for long-term stability and success.

    Reconfigurement opens with an eye-opening examination of the unpleasant reality of money and its importance in our lives. It focuses on why budgeting is crucial in a society where success relies so heavily on personal finance. Practical advice and experiences follow to demonstrate the viability of preserving the capacity to earn.

    After addressing the financial side, Reconfigurement moves on to the career aspect with a series of tests to assist readers in discovering what career would fit them best.

    Continuing the journey, the book explains financial stability pillars that can help strengthen assets and ensure a fruitful retirement. It guides readers through the complexities of insurance, social security systems, and investment opportunities. Next follows the link between safeguarding one’s financial future through insurance and planning for retirement with a chapter on investment options.

    The foundation of life, healthcare, takes center stage as Reconfigurement untangles the web of Medicare and Medicaid to safeguard one’s well-being across the years.

    The specter of long-term care looms as the book addresses its issues and how to plan around them. Next comes guidance on securing a legacy for one’s posterity, focusing on wills, trusts, and the complexities of their legal and tax implications. This path to financial freedom finally carries into uncharted territory: education savings, budgeting skills, and charitable donations.

    Reconfigurement delivers an in-depth account of the different aspects involved in preparing for and managing life transitions, both those hotly discussed and those concealed.

    Case studies, practical counsel, and real-life examples serve to close the gap between theory and implementation. Also, the author concedes that the financial material may tire readers, so he endeavors to balance it with humor, anecdotes, and interactive components in a conversational tone.

    Rather than aiming for ‘one-size-fits-all’, this book’s advice remains flexible for each reader’s unique situation.

    Readers are encouraged to make decisions consistent with their goals, circumstances, and preferences. It is worth noting that Reconfigurement primarily targets the American audience in reflecting American financial standards and systems. However, its overarching financial planning concepts, emphasizing individual customization, assure its global applicability.

    Reconfigurement by E. Alan Fleischauer won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Harvey Chute Awards for Business & Finance Non-Fiction.

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • The 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards Semi-Finalists for Early Readers & Picture Books

    Early Readers and Picture booksThe Little Peeps Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Early Readers. The Little Peeps Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers. Story books, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books, and Educational Books. These books have advanced to the Semi-Finalists for the 2023 CIBAs. (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Middle Grade Readers see our Gertrude Warner Awards.)

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Little Peeps Early Readers Short List to the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards Semi-finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists.  All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards novel competition for Early Readers!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.

    • Michele L. Sayre – What I Would Wish to Be (Wonders of Childhood & Beyond)
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – The Accidental Orchestra
    • Beth Davis – Hanna the Hawk is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Manners
    • Kimberly Delude – Freddie the Fly: Seeing Through Another Lens
    • Joshua Swank – Barry the Brave: A Flowerageous Journey to Courage
    • Michael Michie – Pablo Avocado
    • Adalgisa and David Nico – Fish in the Desert: The Untold Story of the Death Valley Pupfish
    • O.L. Flubermin – A Dinosaur Named Alone: What Will I Do?
    • Susan Sullivan – Bob Tales, Land of the Woody Warbles
    • Beth Davis – Lacinda the Lion is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Bargains
    • Chloe and LaRanda Burke – Keys to Your H.E.A.R.T.
    • Dave O’Hare – Quigley Lopez, A Friend For Life
    • Victoria Smith – Priscilla and Tux: Brothers are Caring
    • Brenda Wilson Huddleston – The Squirrel & the Dragonfly
    • Julie G Fox – Katya’s Sunflowers
    • Lynne Marie – The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project
    • Conrad J. Storad – Story Monster’s S.T.E.A.M. chronicles. Book one, Night watchers : nocturnal creatures of North America : coyotes, snakes, owls, spiders, and more
    • K.R. King – Charlie the Champion
    • Beth Davis – Mykal the Monkey is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Hillary Harper – Thankful FUR You
    • Ruth Amanda – Geckos in the Garden
    • Sheryl Bass – Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze
    • Julie G Fox – The Dreamer: The Girl Who Dreamed The War Over
    • David Horn – Eudora Space Kid: Do the Robot!
    • Brooks Olbrys – The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob – A Secret in the Deep
    • Jonna Laster – Nutshell Regatta
    • Kristin Crowell Ellis – Firefly Fran’s Fran-tastic Day
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – A Child’s Love
    • Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover , Jessica Alexanderson – The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
    • Raven Howell – Friends Come in all Sizes
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – Picnic Pandaemonium
    • Anthony Delauney – Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet
    • Laura Shovan – Welcome to Monsterville
    • Erik Perezbrain – Good Luck is My Guardian Angel
    • Ellie Smith – Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project
    • Katharine Mitropoulos – Ready… Set… Frog!
    • Katherine Lockwood – Why Me, Mama?
    • Anthony C. Delauney – Michael and Hannah and the Magic Money Tree
    • Joey Benun – Pebbles and the Biggest Number
    • T.K. Sheffield – The Night Icelandic Horses Saved Christmas Eve
    • Katrina Johnson – Lily’s Song
    • Laura Teste – Book of Best Words
    • Betsy Coffeen – Cate and the Garden Bandits

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

    Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:

    Ravens Roost 

    by Maggie Bates

    Raven's Roost CoverThe Little Peeps 2022 Grand Prize Badge for Ravens Roost by Maggie Bates

    See the Full List of 2022 Winners here

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

    Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

    Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

     

    Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

    The Chanticleer Authors Conference

    Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!

  • HYBRID HYSTERIA: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Both Holy and Diabolical by Charlie Robinson – Crime Thriller, Conspiracy, Suspense

     

    The Grand Prize Badge for the Global Thriller Awards for Hybrid Hysteria by Charlie RobinsonTwo professors uncover a conspiracy to sterilize liberal Americans with specially-manufactured electric cars, in Charlie Robinson’s thriller, Hybrid Hysteria.

    Dr. Theresa Lauzon, endowed assistant professor at SUNY-Canton’s Department of Automotive Engineering, comes to Charlie “CC” Cavanaugh, university Chaplain and physics PhD, with two troubling revelations.

    First, while testing an electric car donated by the Gauss Hybrid Electric Automobile Company (GHEA), she’d discovered troubling spikes in its battery’s electromagnetic field. She connects these spikes to a rash of infertility and miscarriages along the Pacific coast, where GHEA cars have boomed in popularity.

    Second, Theresa is pregnant, and the father is GHEA’s technician-on-loan to SUNY-Canton, Jay Fish. And though Fish recently disappeared from campus, Theresa has much more complicated problems.

    Theresa reveals to CC that she is likely the daughter of GHEA’s founder, Girard LaCroux, with Theresa’s Akwesasne mother having gone into hiding after she and Girard divorced. She has no idea what Girard’s son and current GHEA president, Claude LaCroux, might do if he discovers her true identity. But she does know that CC has underworld connections, and asks his help in hiding long enough to give her child safely up for adoption.

    CC calls upon his uncle Tony, the godfather of the Fiocchi mafia. Tony’s sinister means might concern CC as a priest, but he’ll need secrecy and resources for all the trouble to come.

    Sending GHEA’s goons chasing after a decoy, Theresa escapes with help from her Native community. But CC’s work isn’t nearly done– he has to discover whether Theresa’s fears about the GHEA cars are true. Girard LaCroux was an arch-conservative, and Claude follows in his footsteps, but could they really enact such a horrific plan? And what threat might they pose to anyone snooping around?

    CC connects with an old mentor, Dr. Toshio Kikuchi, and the two uncover GHEA’s clever system; their battery control modules differ between the Midwest and the Pacific coast, allowing GHEA to specifically target the latter. If not for Theresa’s curiosity, their sterilizing effects would have gone completely under the radar.

    Amidst careful investigation and deadly family ties, criminal factions and covert organizations wage war through knowledge and spy-craft.

    Gayle Smith, Claude LaCroux’s executive assistant, uses her newfound position as Jay Fish’s bodyguard to do some investigating of her own. As a double agent for a world-spanning secret society, she tricks her way into high-security parts of GHEA’s black-site testing grounds. She delves ever deeper into their work, revealing the depths of LaCroux’s evil scheme.

    Meanwhile, CC, Theresa, and Toshio publish a paper on the danger of GHEA batteries, drawing LaCroux’s attention right to them and putting their lives in sudden peril. Even if they save others from GHEA’s plot, who can save them?

    Hybrid Hysteria pores over intricate details with every plan, discovery, and question.

    The story is full of scientific and mechanical information, ranging from the fundamental measurements of magnetism to the construction of GHEA’s batteries, the methodology of faking a natural mud slide, and even the careful steps a sniper must take to derail half of a train. While this often causes the pacing to drag, many of these details show clear expertise and research on the part of author Robinson. Readers interested in a thriller that goes over its subjects with a fine-toothed comb will certainly be satisfied.

    Multiple perspectives reveal new sides of each conspiracy as it begins to unravel.

    CC might have moral reservations as he enters this world of secrecy and danger, but he’s far from the only character with difficult tasks before them. Every person he brings into his confidence quickly finds a target painted on their back.

    Hybrid Hysteria takes readers on a journey through the corporate offices of Claude LaCroux, the manor of an Italian mob boss, and even an alcove of Vatican-adjacent spies.

    Some of these perspectives reveal the conspiracies rather plainly early on, reducing the tension of future investigations. However, when the multiple plotlines converge towards the climax, readers will excitedly follow characters like Gayle and CC as they take a stand in this hidden global battle.

    Hybrid Hysteria by Charlie Robinson won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Global Thriller Awards for High Stakes Suspense.

     

  • DAUGHTER Of HADES by Mack Little – Historical Fiction, Caribbean Piracy, Slavery

     

    Mack Little’s historical fiction novel Daughter of Hades explores the lives of slaves during the age of pirates.

    Little’s research shines in her thoughtful presentation of the Caribbean islands, the escaped slaves who found freedom amongst them, the lives of buccaneers and maroons, and their daring and dangerous exploits.

    On the first page, Little introduces us to Geraldine, or “Dinny”, running for her life from her owner, Owen Craig, who has just raped her.

    Dinny’s father had arranged for her to be removed from the plantation before Craig molested her, but he’d miscalculated Craig’s lust. Dinny is rescued by her twin brother, Jimmie, and Leixiang, and taken to the Hades, a pirate ship captained by the buccaneer Duff.

    Lei is drawn to Dinny, and when he finds out Craig raped her, he tells Duff against Dinny’s wishes. Duff organizes a retaliatory raid.

    Their revenge sets in motion a series of events that Duff and Company must overcome, namely the wrath of the Craig family.

    Little exposes the harsh cruelty and treatment of slaves during the 17th century, revealing a life in the Caribbean that was sometimes beautiful for the Maroons, but was also fraught with danger and the constant fear of being recaptured and punished to near death.

    Expertly building this world, Little fills it with characters that readers will love and hate, especially as they root for Dinny, Lei, and Duff.

    Dinny’s future looks bleak, and she gains knowledge of Owen Craig’s father that shrivels her heart against the Admiral and his housekeeper Jane.

    With the whole island aware of Admiral Craig’s deviant ways, and Jane’s assistance in finding him young boys to satisfy his lust, the clock is ticking before the island erupts in violence. Little’s plot twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats as she slowly reveals the resolution to Craig’s revenge.

    Author Little’s research into the history of buccaneers and the lives they led– right down to the democratic approach some captains took in including their crew in the decision-making process– creates a rich setting for this tale. Her skill in developing such a varied cast of characters will delight readers, and the love story that ties the novel together will draw readers in until the very last page.

    Daughter of Hades will provide hours of entertainment and satisfy history buffs and romance readers alike. Little enthralls us with Dinny’s compassion, courage, determination, and strength, as this intelligent woman pursues a life of conviction and honesty.

    Daughter of Hades by Mack Little won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction.

     

    Gold Foil Book Sticker Chaucer Grand Prize

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • The 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards Short List for Early Readers & Picture Books

    Early Readers and Picture booksThe Little Peeps Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Early Readers. The Little Peeps Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers. Story books, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books, and Educational Books. These books have advanced to the Long List for the 2023 CIBAs. (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Middle Grade Readers see our Gertrude Warner Awards.)

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Little Peeps Early Readers Long List to the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards Short List. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Little Peeps Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists.  All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards novel competition for Early Readers!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.

    • Michele L. Sayre – The Unluckiest Leprechaun by Far (Happy Tails)
    • Ginger Smith – The Magic Blanket
    • Cheryl Carpinello – Grandma Tales 3: Vampires in the Backyard and A Fish Tale
    • Janet Earnest-Jenkins – Hoppin’ Hankaroo-Zoo Adventure
    • Michele L. Sayre – What I Would Wish to Be (Wonders of Childhood & Beyond)
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – The Accidental Orchestra
    • Beth Davis – Hanna the Hawk is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Manners
    • W. B. Murph – Molly’s Miracle
    • TK Sheffield – Nellie’s Island, a tiny filly from a small farm earns her “filly esteem” while working among giant draft horses on Mackinac Island
    • Michael Dow, RN, MS – Nurse Florence® for Beginning Readers: Help, I’m Bleeding!
    • Joy K. Ball – Winnie’s Christmas Treasure Hunt
    • Kimberly Delude – Freddie the Fly: Seeing Through Another Lens
    • Brenda Wilson Huddleston – Liam & Little Tail
    • Cynthia C. Huijgens – Polar Bear and the UFO
    • Joshua Swank – Barry the Brave: A Flowerageous Journey to Courage
    • Michael Michie – Pablo Avocado
    • Adalgisa and David Nico – Fish in the Desert: The Untold Story of the Death Valley Pupfish
    • O.L. Flubermin – A Dinosaur Named Alone: What Will I Do?
    • Susan Sullivan – Bob Tales, Land of the Woody Warbles
    • Beth Davis – Lacinda the Lion is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Carolyn Wild – Jacob Sheep: Do You Have A Little Lamb?
    • Michele L. Sayre – The Not So Funny Bunny (Happy Tails)
    • Carolyn Wild – I Like Ducks: All Year Long
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Bargains
    • Chloe and LaRanda Burke – Keys to Your H.E.A.R.T.
    • Katrina Johnson – Captain Patch and the Treasure of the Sea Gods
    • Dave O’Hare – Quigley Lopez, A Friend For Life
    • Miki Taylor – Bentley’s Fantabulous Idea
    • Victoria Smith – Priscilla and Tux: Brothers are Caring
    • Brenda Wilson Huddleston – The Squirrel & the Dragonfly
    • Julie G Fox – Katya’s Sunflowers
    • Tzuri King & Julie G Fox – The Dreamer: The Girl Who Dreamed the War Over
    • Lynne Marie – The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project
    • Conrad J. Storad – Story Monster’s S.T.E.A.M. chronicles. Book one, Night watchers : nocturnal creatures of North America : coyotes, snakes, owls, spiders, and more
    • K.R. King – Charlie the Champion
    • Beth Davis – Mykal the Monkey is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Hillary Harper – Thankful FUR You
    • Ruth Amanda – Geckos in the Garden
    • Carolyn Wild – This Kitten; Has Blue Eyes
    • Sheryl Bass – Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze
    • Julie G Fox – The Dreamer: The Girl Who Dreamed The War Over
    • David Horn – Eudora Space Kid: Do the Robot!
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – Mr Moon Mr Moon
    • Brooks Olbrys – The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob – A Secret in the Deep
    • Jonna Laster – Nutshell Regatta
    • Kristin Crowell Ellis – Firefly Fran’s Fran-tastic Day
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – A Child’s Love
    • TK Sohal and Ms. Raman Kaur – Twin Adventures
    • Lori Keenen Smith – Lorlee and the Light
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – What Little Girls Can Do!
    • Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover , Jessica Alexanderson – The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
    • Raven Howell – Friends Come in all Sizes
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – Picnic Pandaemonium
    • Anthony Delauney – Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet
    • Laura Shovan – Welcome to Monsterville
    • Erik Perezbrain – Good Luck is My Guardian Angel
    • Ellie Smith – Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project
    • Katharine Mitropoulos – Ready… Set… Frog!
    • Katherine Lockwood – Why Me, Mama?
    • Anthony C. Delauney – Michael and Hannah and the Magic Money Tree
    • Joey Benun – Pebbles and the Biggest Number
    • Dominique Ellis – The Wisdom Tree: A Father’s Love
    • T.K. Sheffield – The Night Icelandic Horses Saved Christmas Eve
    • Katrina Johnson – Lily’s Song
    • Laura Teste – Book of Best Words
    • Betsy Coffeen – Cate and the Garden Bandits

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

    Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:

    Ravens Roost 

    by Maggie Bates

    Raven's Roost CoverThe Little Peeps 2022 Grand Prize Badge for Ravens Roost by Maggie Bates

    See the Full List of 2022 Winners here

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

    Please click here to visit our pageto LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

    Or click hereto go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

    Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

     

    Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

    The Chanticleer Authors Conference

    Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!

  • COLD As HELL: Black Badge Book 1 by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – Supernatural Western, Mystery, Action/Adventure

     

    2022 Grand Prize Paranormal Cold as HellJames Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.

    Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.

    But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition. 

    Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.

    When a band of demonic hell creatures begins robbing a chain of banks owned by resident millionaire Dufaux and devastating towns full of innocent civilians in their wake, Crowley teams up with his trusty mare Timperina, nagging angel handler Shar, and dim-witted yet dependable Deputy Dale to hunt down the vile nephilim and help those in need. Along the way, he runs into old acquaintances such as the beautiful, revenge-driven Rosa and his worst enemy and murderer, Ace.

    In the end, it’s up to Crowley to get to the bottom of the mystery and wreak revenge on the monsters – both hellish and human.

    Despite his icy attitude, Crowley captures readers with his personal values to defend the oppressed and the defenseless. His unique ability to relive the last moments of the recently killed urges him to resist violence whenever possible, making him an empathetic renegade and, at times, more human than the real human characters.

    As Crowley uncovers layers of obscured atrocities during his quest, he sympathizes with the brutality and injustice of colonization, racism, enslavement, sexual violence, and much more, elevating this feel-good read to the status of a social commentary.

    Castle’s and Bruno’s strange, action-packed supernatural western leaves nothing to be desired. Steeped in witty sarcasm, the easy-to-follow prose is immersive and thrilling. Gritty, colorful, and at times deeply moving, the first installment of the fantasy-western Black Badge series envelops readers in the cowboy blues and horrors of the otherworldly.

    Cold as Hell by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Paranormal Awards for Supernatural Fiction.

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • THE LAST LUMENIAN by S.G. Blaise – Science Fiction, Space Opera, Romance

     

    Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.

    Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.

    Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.

    With sparks of humor, the story grips the reader as the stakes are ever-rising with the demands on Lilla building relentlessly.

    Known as the “brutes of the Seven Galaxies,” the Teryn army seems hellbent on destroying every world they encounter, but the more Lilla learns about Callum, the less she believes that to be true. When she discovers both she and Callum are concerned about recent murders on Uhna, she realizes their agendas may not be that different. The bodies pile up, and Lilla suspects there will soon be an Era War between the Archgod of Chaos and Destruction and the Archgoddess of the Eternal Light and Order, putting her planet in the middle of two terrifying conflicts.

    Eventually, she learns of her identity as the last Lumenian, a creation of the archgoddess to fight the archgod. Lilla must decide which path will take to ensure her people’s survival, but as the rebellion, the Era War, and her love for the dangerous general escalate, she only grows more uncertain of her place amongst any of them. With the clock ticking down, she will have to choose, and the decision may cost her everything.

    Lilla’s character is the star of this novel that will pull in readers who want to celebrate her as she proves her worth – to herself as much as anyone else.

    Though Lilla’s mother died when she was only five, Lilla still remembers the fierce, beautiful woman who so valiantly fought to keep her only child safe and happy. When she discovers her mother’s secret heritage as a creation of the archgoddess, made to be a perpetual guardian of the light, Lilla fears she may never live up to such a standard. Constantly plagued by doubts in her abilities, Lilla fights like only youth and sheer bravado can to rise above the menial expectations of a contract marriage and a pretty showpiece of the palace.

    She fearlessly confronts the archgoddess, telling her that she must earn Lilla’s respect despite the power pouring from the deity. After being tasked with hunting and killing the dark archgod and his minions of destruction, Lilla is rightly terrified, but she refuses to let that stop her. She risks treason, death, and the corruption of her very soul.

    However, as much as her passionate fire of youth drives her forward, that passion draws ever more danger towards her.

    She plunges into the rebellion after seeing firsthand the cruelty of the overseers and soldiers when one of her friends, a young servant, is taken to the camp and badly beaten for simply being a refugee. Once “inside” the rebellion, she discovers that her mother supported the cause, which cements her resolve.

    Lilla doesn’t take the time to investigate whether she truly shares this group’s values. Xor, the leader, uses Lilla’s guilt and self-doubt over her position as the king’s daughter to bully her into deadly situations. And Lilla nearly misses out on an amazing partner in General Callum, as she initially shuns him for his bloody reputation. She even steals from him to aid the rebellion – all the while, Callum has her back, literally and figuratively.

    The world of Uhna will entirely transport the reader.

    A mixture of magic and science, this place creates an unbelievable environment, where fanged warhorses exist alongside floating elevators and transmitter necklaces that will put the newest smartphone to shame. The magical elements of earth, air, fire, water, and animal will feel both familiar and novel. The past and the future seem to collide here and coalesce into a unique spin on the space opera genre.

    The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction.

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • SAINTS And SOLDIERS: Inside Internet-Age Terrorism, From Syria to the Capitol Siege by Rita Katz – Journalism, Terrorism, Modern Communication

     

    The Nellie Bly Grand Prize Badge for Rita Katz and her book Saints and Soldiers

    To many, atrocities such as mass shootings and violent counter-protests seem to appear out of thin air, undertaken by independent actors. But Rita Katz, in her groundbreaking exploration of internet-age terrorism Saints and Soldiers, reveals a sinister ecosystem of violence multiplying worldwide, visible yet largely ignored.

    Katz– executive director of the counterterrorist organization SITE Intelligence Group– uses a strategic blend of primary media sources, personal narrative, and research analysis to unearth the haunting truths of internet-age terrorism. Although SITE once focused mainly on monitoring the actions of Islamist terrorist groups, Katz describes how it began applying the same tracking methods to white supremacists and neo-Nazis over a decade ago. As Katz writes, “the internet is more than just an asset for today’s new breed of terrorists. It is a necessity.”

    Throughout Saints and Soldiers, Katz uses her decades of intensive experience to describe how a new generation of internet-born white supremacist movements followed the same trajectory as ISIS. She exposes the network of threads that link white supremacist violence such as the Christchurch massacre of 2019 to their origins on messaging platforms such as 8chan, Discord, Stormfront, and Telegram. Indoctrinating vulnerable minds with extremist neo-Nazi ideology, these violent groups use a “screw your optics” mantra that celebrates gruesome violence and the “saints ” and “martyrs” that drive their hateful cause.

    Katz reveals her first-hand experiences with neo-Nazi organizations that have targeted her and her community for their counterterrorist work and her vulnerable identity as an Iraq-born, Jewish woman. Saints and Soldiers cements Katz’s commitment to creating a safer future for her loved ones and the world at large.

    While the truth of this violence may seem hopeless, Katz urges readers to keep reasonable goals toward change in sight.

    Katz faults the US government and tech companies with responding too late and neglecting the warning signs pointing toward future violent actions. While any internet posts connected to ISIS are treated with immediate action, white supremacist violence is largely ignored or dismissed with an excuse of “free speech.” As a result, responsible actors miss obvious signs pointing toward real danger. Katz implores tech companies to extend the digital walls that they have created to block ISIS terrorism to white supremacist platforms whenever possible, halting their ability to attract and radicalize more people.

    Katz’s intense storytelling does not shy away from reality, however grim.

    Graphic descriptions of terrorist attacks tied to antisemitism, racism, sexism, and xenophobia will resurrect fresh mourning in readers. However, although shocking, Katz’s writing is widely accessible. Rather than relying solely on written text, Katz incorporates images, screenshots of social media posts, tweets, and extremist artwork, creating a multimedia project that allows readers to deeply invest in and connect with the truth of her research. Similarly, Katz carefully deconstructs the process SITE uses to investigate possible terrorist concerns, bringing ethical transparency into a conversation often concealed from the larger public.

    Saints and Soldiers is eloquent, eye-opening, and timely. Katz compares and contrasts white nationalist neo-Nazi internet terrorist groups with the declining presence of ISIS extremist organizations, searching for solutions to violence. Threads of true stories weave together a chilling portrait of white supremacist terrorist threats proliferating in plain sight, while offering steps toward safety.

    Saints and Soldiers by Rita Katz won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Nellie Bly Awards for Longform Journalism Non-Fiction.

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • A SPYING EYE: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox – Historical Mystery, Women Sleuths, 20th Century

     

    The 2022 Overall Grand Prize Winner Badge for Michelle Cox and her book A Spying EyeBrooding Château du Freudeneck, just outside Strasbourg, France has villains in the drawing rooms, stolen art hidden in the cellars, and bats in the belfry – all the best elements for a 19th-century Gothic mystery.

    However, in Michelle Cox’s novel, A Spying Eye it’s the 20th century. The Great War is passed, but the next war already looms on the horizon. The people of Strasbourg feel the growing conflict sharply, at the heart of Alsace-Lorraine, a fertile region that has been contested between France and Germany since time immemorial.

    Which means those bats are in the unfortunate head of the elderly Baron Von Harmon, the current lord and master (as much as he’s still able to be, at least) of the Chateau, while the stolen art is pursued by both the villainous Nazis and the only slightly-less villainous agents of Britain’s MI5.

    Amongst this strife, Clive and Henrietta Howard visit the Chateau, at the behest of both his mother and his country. They’re filled with conflicting hopes about a second honeymoon after their disastrous first attempt in A Promise Given, while conducting a wild goose chase for a missing occult art masterpiece in the home of Henrietta’s long-lost relations.

    The game is afoot from the very first page of this sixth entry in the award-winning series – long before Clive and Henrietta even know that they are being played by both sides, neither of whom intends for them to survive.

    While Inspector Clive Howard is certainly the more experienced investigator of this pair, the focus in A Spying Eye is firmly on Henrietta, particularly in contrast to the trials and tribulations faced back home by her sister Elsie and her sister-in-law Julia.

    The Strasbourg troubles in which Henrietta finds herself mired combines a search for the roots her family left behind generations ago with an utterly riveting and thoroughly researched investigation into the early years of the Nazi movement, Hitler’s seemingly endless search for mystical and mythical artworks to feed his obsession with the occult, and a real-life mystery wrapped around just what happened to the panel of the Ghent Altarpiece that the Howards oh-so-briefly managed to hold in their hands.

    The pace of the story is relentless on both sides of the Atlantic, as Henrietta, Julia, and Elise all face personal, professional, and even criminal crises, in a world marching towards World War II.

    Readers who have fallen in love with the detective duo of Howard and Howard will be in rapture over this latest entry. Fans of the bestselling Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear or the Elena Standish series by the late Anne Perry will find just the kind of character-driven, meticulously researched historical mystery that they are craving, set in the fascinating period between the wars.

    As A Spying Eye ends, Henrietta gets her hat on the way out the door to her next adventure, A Haunting at Linley, scheduled for release in late October 2023.

    A Spying Eye by Michelle Cox won the Overall Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Book Awards.

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

  • The 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards Long List for Early Readers & Picture Books

    Early Readers and Picture booksThe Little Peeps Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Early Readers. The Little Peeps Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers. Story books, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books, and Educational Books. These books have advanced to the Long List for the 2023 CIBAs. (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Middle Grade Readers see our Gertrude Warner Awards.)

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Little Peeps Early Readers entries to the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Little Peeps Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists.  All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Little Peeps Book Awards novel competition for Early Readers!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.

    • Michele L. Sayre – The Unluckiest Leprechaun by Far (Happy Tails)
    • Ginger Smith – The Magic Blanket
    • Cheryl Carpinello – Grandma Tales 3: Vampires in the Backyard and A Fish Tale
    • Janet Earnest-Jenkins – Hoppin’ Hankaroo-Zoo Adventure
    • Michele L. Sayre – What I Would Wish to Be (Wonders of Childhood & Beyond)
    • George M. Johnson – Sophia’s Secrets
    • Donna L. Huntriss – Bowerbirds!
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – The Accidental Orchestra
    • Beth Davis – Hanna the Hawk is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Manners
    • W. B. Murph – Molly’s Miracle
    • Hugh Pittman – Chika’s Mysterious Phone
    • TK Sheffield – Nellie’s Island, a tiny filly from a small farm earns her “filly esteem” while working among giant draft horses on Mackinac Island
    • Michael Dow, RN, MS – Nurse Florence® for Beginning Readers: Help, I’m Bleeding!
    • Joy K. Ball – Winnie’s Christmas Treasure Hunt
    • Kimberly Delude – Freddie the Fly: Seeing Through Another Lens
    • Brenda Wilson Huddleston – Liam & Little Tail
    • Cynthia C. Huijgens – Polar Bear and the UFO
    • David Lane – I Have Questions, Lots and Lots of Questions: A True Story of Christmas
    • Joshua Swank – Barry the Brave: A Flowerageous Journey to Courage
    • Miranda Sada – Wings of Glitter
    • Michael Michie – Pablo Avocado
    • Adalgisa and David Nico – Fish in the Desert: The Untold Story of the Death Valley Pupfish
    • O.L. Flubermin – A Dinosaur Named Alone: What Will I Do?
    • Grace Wolf – May I Sit At Your Table?
    • Susan Sullivan – Bob Tales, Land of the Woody Warbles
    • Victoria Smith – Tuxedo Baby and His Annoying Cousins
    • Liana Somerset – Detective Buster Cuffs: Catching the Treat Snatcher
    • Beth Davis – Lacinda the Lion is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Carolyn Wild – Jacob Sheep: Do You Have A Little Lamb?
    • Michele L. Sayre – The Not So Funny Bunny (Happy Tails)
    • Carolyn Wild – I Like Ducks: All Year Long
    • Laura Teste – Book of Bad Bargains
    • Chloe and LaRanda Burke – Keys to Your H.E.A.R.T.
    • Katrina Johnson – Captain Patch and the Treasure of the Sea Gods
    • Dave O’Hare – Quigley Lopez, A Friend For Life
    • Miki Taylor – Bentley’s Fantabulous Idea
    • Victoria Smith – Priscilla and Tux: Brothers are Caring
    • Johnny Marfia – Marco & Me
    • Brenda Wilson Huddleston – The Squirrel & the Dragonfly
    • Julie G Fox – Katya’s Sunflowers
    • Tzuri King & Julie G Fox – The Dreamer: The Girl Who Dreamed the War Over
    • Lynne Marie – The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project
    • Conrad J. Storad – Story Monster’s S.T.E.A.M. chronicles. Book one, Night watchers : nocturnal creatures of North America : coyotes, snakes, owls, spiders, and more
    • K.R. King – Charlie the Champion
    • Beth Davis – Mykal the Monkey is a Super Youneek Beast
    • Hillary Harper – Thankful FUR You
    • Ruth Amanda – Geckos in the Garden
    • Carolyn Wild – This Kitten; Has Blue Eyes
    • Sheryl Bass – Baby Dragon’s Big Sneeze
    • Julie G Fox – The Dreamer: The Girl Who Dreamed The War Over
    • David Horn – Eudora Space Kid: Do the Robot!
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – Mr Moon Mr Moon
    • Brooks Olbrys – The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob – A Secret in the Deep
    • Jonna Laster – Nutshell Regatta
    • Kristin Crowell Ellis – Firefly Fran’s Fran-tastic Day
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – A Child’s Love
    • Carolyn Wild – Big Dogs Little Dogs: On The Farm
    • TK Sohal and Ms. Raman Kaur – Twin Adventures
    • Lori Keenen Smith – Lorlee and the Light
    • Anna Casamento Arrigo – What Little Girls Can Do!
    • Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover , Jessica Alexanderson – The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
    • Geraldine Moran and Illustrated by Daniella Banco – The Moon Child
    • Raven Howell – Friends Come in all Sizes
    • Aniela Emma Chaudhuri – Picnic Pandaemonium
    • Anthony Delauney – Rohan and Nyra and Big Sister’s Bet
    • Laura Shovan – Welcome to Monsterville
    • Erik Perezbrain – Good Luck is My Guardian Angel
    • Ellie Smith – Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project
    • Katharine Mitropoulos – Ready… Set… Frog!
    • Katherine Lockwood – Why Me, Mama?
    • Anthony C. Delauney – Michael and Hannah and the Magic Money Tree
    • Joey Benun – Pebbles and the Biggest Number
    • Dominique Ellis – The Wisdom Tree: A Father’s Love
    • T.K. Sheffield – The Night Icelandic Horses Saved Christmas Eve
    • Katrina Johnson – Lily’s Song
    • Laura Teste – Book of Best Words
    • Betsy Coffeen – Cate and the Garden Bandits

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

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    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:

    Ravens Roost 

    by Maggie Bates

    Raven's Roost CoverThe Little Peeps 2022 Grand Prize Badge for Ravens Roost by Maggie Bates

    See the Full List of 2022 Little Peeps Winners here

     

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2024 Little Peeps Book Awards for Children’s Books. The 2024 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2025. 

    Please click here for more information.

    Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887)  has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!